Bristol City Council Takeover Day

This term, four schools from the Future Ready programme came to City Hall for Bristol City Council Takeover Day, bringing a total of 84 year 8 students. The day demonstrated the range of careers available within the council and engaged learners with activities that gave them an insight into different roles. Seven council teams volunteered to take part: Marine Services, Parks, Trades, Private Housing, Bridges and Highways, Planning, and Policy, Strategy and Communications.

When the learners arrived, some felt a bit overwhelmed by the grandeur of City Hall, but they soon became comfortable after being warmly welcomed by WORKS staff and council teams. The event began with a short introduction covering what a council is and some of the services Bristol City Council provides. This was followed by learners rotating around council teams in small groups around the room, with 10 minutes to do a mini-activity. Given the variety of council teams involved, every activity was different: the Parks team challenged learners to identify a series of small trees using guides; the Policy team got students guessing how the council spends its budget across different services; and the Planning team set the groups the task of identifying Bristol landmarks and finding them on the map.

After the mini activities, learners split into break out spaces with a new council team to get stuck into a longer challenge. Following are a few examples of activities teams had prepared. The Private Housing team supported students to conduct an inspection of a City Hall meeting room using tape measures, damp metres, and various safety equipment. The Marine Services team presented students with an emergency call scenario, asking them to set out how they would respond and then demonstrating their process with a simulated call. The Trades team tested learners’ carpentry skills by building birdhouses that schools could take back with them. The Bridges and Highways team got students to think about engineering by creating small models of several types of bridge.

After the challenges, learners were taken on a tour of City Hall, including the Cash Hall, the IT offices, and the Council Chamber.

Back in the Conference Hall, groups sat with volunteers from a council team they hadn’t yet met, who asked them questions about their experience of the day. This supported students to reflect on the skills they had built and what they had learned, as well as continuing to build confidence and communication skills through speaking to yet more new people.

The event closed with a rousing speech from Jane Taylor, Head of Service for Employment, Skills and Lifelong Learning. Jane’s speech emphasised the importance of the energy and ideas young people bring to the workforce and encouraged students to consider a career with Bristol City Council in the future.

School staff said:

• ‘I would recommend this visit – it definitely raises students’ aspirations’
• ‘It was helpful for young people to find out that the council employs people from all sectors’
• ‘It helps young people to understand how their day to day lives are impacted by the council.’

Students said:

• ‘I learnt about different types of jobs and what goes on in the council’
• ‘I learnt lots of things about jobs and problem solving’
• ‘I’ve learnt about the history of the building and different types of jobs in here’
• ‘I have learnt that the job isn’t always what it seems. I liked the massive hall with microphones’
• ‘I learnt that there are so many job opportunities to do! I liked when we could wear hard hats and high vis’
• ‘I learnt that all jobs require different skills’
• ‘The staff are really nice’

BCC staff said:

• ‘All the children were lovely and very well behaved, it was great to meet them and I think it is a really positive experience for young people and for their futures. Thank you for including us.’
• ‘This was very worthwhile, and I was able to include talking informally about safety in and around the Harbour in a way that was relevant.’
• ‘Great job BW Team. Very well put together and I’m sure Highways will continue to support these sessions.’

For Bristol City Council, this has been a fantastic opportunity to open its doors to young people in Bristol, raising awareness of the important work we do while also showcasing future job opportunities they may not have previously considered and helping to build a pipeline of future talent.

Thank you to the teachers and learners from Mangotsfield, Bedminster Down, Kings Oak and Orchard schools for your enthusiasm and engagement throughout the day. Thank you also to the fantastic council teams who volunteered their time to make the event a success!

Bristol WORKS’ Future Ready programme gives under-served school students from 15 schools across Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucester and BANES, experiences of different organisations and career paths. We will be working with students for 3 years (from year 8 to year 10) to get them 10 days of meaningful experiences of work by the end of the programme. Future Ready is funded by The Careers and Enterprise Company and delivered in partnership with West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.